This is Yuki (standing, left-right), me, Patty, Cheryl, Jessica and Mariko (Yuki's mother); seated are Eri (Yuki's sister), my mother, Auntie Keiko (Eri and Yuki's grandnother) and Aunt Mizue.
Cheryl and Tsune-chan discussing something, but neither could understand the other.
TUESDAY, MAY 20
After spending the night in Atlanta because of a canceled flight, we went to the airport and checked in. We also traded dollars for yen. It was something like 94 yen to every dollar, which isn't very good.
We boarded a Delta plane for LAX (Los Angeles International Airport).
It's a very crowded flight on a small plane. We land at LAX, where we have to find our next plane, which is Korean Airlines. My mother flew Korean Airlines years ago and has always told us horror stories. We were a little dismayed. But it was our only way to get to Japan.
So we stopped to eat lunch at the airport. Because of all the Asian travelers, the restaurants cater to them and there was some great Japanese food.
We also exchanged more yen. It's amazing what a couple of hours can do. The price of yen went up to 96 per dollar.
Before we knew it, it was time to board the airplane.
Unlike American air carriers, I'm guessing there's not a hiring requirement on Korean Airlines. All of the flight attendants were gorgeous young women in very sharp uniforms. Many of them were fluent in English and/or Japanese. And they were all very nice.
The meals were very good, too. I slept much of the way.
It was a 14 hour flight.
When we landed it was already Wednesday, May 21.
As we were leaving the plane, my brother requested a wheelchair for my mother. She was astounded when one of the flight attendants took her by the hand to an awaiting chair. We were very grateful.
After clearing customs at Narita International Airport, we claimed our luggage and met our relatives who were waiting for us.
We were met by my Aunt Keiko Kono (my mother's sister, who is 11 years older than she is) and her two grown children, Noriko Tadaki and Kenichi Kono. In fact, both of them are 60something. My cousin Hiromi Hosaka, her husband Tsuneo and their daughter, Miho, were also there.
Because we had 14 pieces of checked luggage and seven carry-on bags, we decided to have all of it delivered the next day.
And because there were seven of us (me, my mother, my brother Fred, his wife Cheryl, their daughter Jessica, my youngest sister Patty and her husband John), we split into two cars (Ken-chan's and Tsuneo-san's) and a taxi to get to Kashiwa, where we were staying.
It's about a 90-minute ride. My brother said it was like going from Columbus to Atlanta. Except we were on the other side of the road and in much, much smaller cars.
So it was probably about 6:30 p.m. when we finally arrived at the house that Ken-chan found for us.
It turned out that the owner had moved to Hokkaido, the biggest northern-most island that makes up Japan. His children didn't want to live there and he can't sell the house. So he was happy to rent it to us for a month.
It's a big house with two bedrooms and a half bath upstairs. Downstairs is the kitchen, full bath and two living areas, which we turned into bedrooms at night. It's on a huge lot, though overgrown.
One thing about Japanese bathrooms. They are nothing like American ones. Most modern homes have Western style toilets (thank goodness!). But the toilets are in a room all by itself. To save water, when you flush the toilet, there's a faucet above the tank where you wash your hands while it refills the tank. Smart, huh? And the toilets themselves have heated seats (which is great in the winter, believe me) and a built-in bidet. There's even a button that makes a running water sound if you're shy. Some even have a button for music! There's a separate room with a vanity where you can put on your make-up or shave and brush your teeth. There's also a washer connection. Next to that is the bath. Now the bath is a whole different story. You fill up little buckets of water to wet your hair and body so you can shampoo and soap up. The hand-held shower is used to rinse off. When you're thoroughly rinsed, you have the option to soak in the very deep tub. Unlike here in the States where you soap up in the tub, the water is saved for the next person. The water is always kept hot.
One night, I heated it too hot. The next day, Fred said all we had to do is drop eggs in it so we can have hard-boiled eggs!
That's one way to conserve water. And gas to heat it. You only turn on the gas when you're ready to take a bath.
In the kitchen, they've got those waterless tanks. You get instant hot water, so you don't waste water waiting for it to get hot. I noticed that Lowe's is selling them. My mother and I are thinking about getting one for our kitchen
My cousins thought of everything. The house had been empty for about a year, so they turned on the electricity, made sure we had gas and rented furniture, bedding, linens and towels. They rented a stove, refrigerator and rice cooker. They went through their china cabinets and brought over enough dishes and chopsticks for us. Then they made sure we had groceries like orange juice, milk, eggs, cereal, coffee and green tea.
Ken-chan organized everything and the other cousins pitched in to pay for everything.
He also made up a schedule for us. We had something to do every single day. And he made sure one of the cousins was with us.
His wife, Mariko, became our chauffeur much of the time, making two trips to get us where we were going. She went above and beyond! I mean, she had her own house to run while we were there. It helped that they lived on the next street over. In fact our front door faced the back of their house.
The first night, we had a big group over at the house. It was all of us from Georgia; Auntie Keiko, Ken-chan, Mariko and their two kids, Yuki and Eri; Hiromi, Tsuneo and their two kids, Yuichi and Miho; Hiromi's sister, Kotoe and Noriko.
For dinner, Ken-chan took his mother, Cheryl and me to a grocery store called Kasumi that's right across the street from the Minami Kashiwa train station. In English, it's the South Kashiwa station.
It was Cheryl's first experience in a Japanese grocery store and she had a great time looking at everything.
Another thing about Japan. You never wear your shoes in the house. There's always a small foyer where you leave your shoes and put on a pair of slippers.
Auntie Keiko took us to the 100 Yen store that was on the second floor. She bought slippers for us all. Cheryl and I bought some other stuff. She became completely enamored of the "hyaku yen" store.
We got back to the house and put out the food for dinner.
After dinner, we passed out all the presents we had brought for our relatives.
Tsuneo-san has always been reserved. The times I've seen him before, he would sit in a corner and watch. He was always very nice, but like I said, reserved.
This time, though, he was a hoot.
I pointed out various people and asked Jessica what their names were. When it came time for Tsuneo, she said his name correctly. He turned to her, and said in English, "Just call me Tsune-chan."
And that was his name from then on. Ken-chan even took to calling him Mr. Tsune-chan.
Everyone went home and we spread out the futons on the floors, upstairs and down, and we spent our first night in Japan. By the way, when Americans refer to futon, they mean the futon beds. In Japan, a futon is the mattress that is put on the floor to sleep on.
All I can say is I'm too old to be sleeping on the floor!
Hey! Who won "Dancing With the Stars"?
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